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Computer software developers do real analysis and design
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08/16/2010
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"Working on real projects makes a big difference in how students approach
writing software,\uc1\u8221? says Computer Science Professor Dawn
Wolthuis.
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Knowing an assignment is simply an exercise seems to negatively affect
student creativity and persistence.
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\uc1\u8220?It\uc1\u8217?s unsatisfying to design if there\uc1\u8217?s
no possibility that it could ever be implemented,\uc1\u8221? says
Wolthuis.
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Software developers need to use both the right and the left brain,
says Professor Dawn Wolthuis. She calls writing software a creative
act, like creating a building or a meal or a painting.\'46inding small
businesses that might like software development assistance isn\uc1\u8217?t
hard, but since most software development classes focus on only part
of the process, collaborating with businesses can be difficult. Understandably,
they want a finished product, not a piece of a product.
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So Wolthuis, a half\_time assistant professor who also has her own
start\_up software company, assigns her students pieces of the project
she\uc1\u8217?s currently working on\uc1\u8212?a web\_based sign\_up
and roster management program called SnupNow.
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\uc1\u8220?This allows them to work on a real project and, at the
same time, only focus on one particular piece of a project,\uc1\u8221?
she says, adding, \uc1\u8220?Students can come up with some great
ideas.\uc1\u8221?
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SnupNow is currently in its alpha delivery phase, Wolthuis explains.
\uc1\u8220?It has a lot of features at this point but still is not
feature rich.\uc1\u8221? She has her students pick something that
SnupNow doesn\uc1\u8217?t currently do, figure out what it would take
to make it happen, and then work on it.
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\uc1\u8220?It\uc1\u8217?s better than a case study,\uc1\u8221? Wolthuis
believes, because students see the work as part of a bigger project
that is already working. She expects her students to get more out
of the assignment than her company does, but nevertheless she gives
them the option to do another case study if Dawn Wolthuisthey prefer
not to contribute to SnupNow. She\uc1\u8217?s had one student opt
out, but she says that the result was a more general research paper,
rather than hands\_on experience. Those student developers who contribute
are listed as developers on the SnupNow website.
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\uc1\u8220?I taught this course five years ago using only case studies,
and the students\uc1\u8217? designs were not nearly as good,\uc1\u8221?
she says. Doing analysis and design in the abstract is not as helpful
because students don\uc1\u8217?t see the messiness that develops in
a project that has many dimensions\uc1\u8212?and because of that,
they don't have to correct for it.
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Wolthuis, who has worked in both corporate and higher education IT
departments, actively promotes software development with her students
and says she can usually pick out who will be good at it.
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\uc1\u8220?You need to use both left and right brain to be a good
developer and get projects done,\uc1\u8221? she says. She also believes
that good software engineers and developers need excellent communication
skills so they can better understand what a customer needs and communicate
their vision for how that could come about.
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\uc1\u8220?Software development can be an especially good fit for
women,\uc1\u8221? says Wolthuis, who has loved her career in software
development and related fields. She notes that many women went into
data processing a couple of decades ago, but after it was named computer
science, the numbers fell off.
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\uc1\u8220?Unfortunately women are not as likely to choose a discipline
named after a machine. Perhaps we could call it software quilting,\uc1\u8221?
she says with a chuckle.
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SALLY JONGSMA
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